Thank You God for this Most Amazing

i thank You God for this most amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

-e.e. cummings

Fascinating.

The world is so polarized: whydoyouhategod.com.

I was on the bus today wondering if the world was anything more than opinion.

10

People have favorite things that happen to them, like being bumped up to first class on airplane trips or when the clerk accidentally gives you change for a $20 when you only gave him a $10. One of my favorite things is when I run into someone who shares the same taste in poetry. Steph mentioned she enjoyed cummings from her dabbles with him in English class, and Henry from Time Traveller's likes Marvell, but unfortunately that's as far as our poetic similarities go. I long to find a friend to praise Dickinson, Marvell and Pound with (and bonus if they know Ralph Fletcher too) but everyone has their own tastes; "different strokes for different folks" as Jia would say.

So then on to cummings. Pay attention to the highlighted line, it's marvelous.

***

10

maggie + milly + molly + may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles, and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles: and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.

yes, that's the way it is, isn't it

***

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did.

***

Going to Calgary Tuesday to Thursday - no posting those days. Apologies.

Admittedly, this week's linkage is very basketball oriented. I'm the proud new owner of a Calderon jersey care of Valentine's Day, so you can understand why it's on my mind. I've been thinking a lot about the point guard position lately, and I think the three guards featured - Calderon, Paul & Stockton - are exactly what the one should be. I think there's something to be said when they want to double team your point player - in the Calderon video they mention that they'd rather Calderon be a scorer rather than a passer because if they let him distribute the ball he destroys. That's what it's about, being able to handle the ball well, dribble penetrate and kick out when necessary, yet be able to come off screens and pop off the three if they leave you open. Paul's video is just mind boggling; he's such a talented guard whose showmanship simply lies in his raw ability to play the one well.

The rest is the Oscar Brown Jr. poem I promised, which I find amazing on so many levels. The poem has so many layers it was actually a cake in its previous life. The last is Shara from My Brightest Diamond with a solo version of Golden Star. That and Freak Out are badass songs from the album.

I'm going to go to bed.